It’s hard to imagine so much sound and energy coming from just two musicians, but the Rhode Island duo Brown Bird pull it off well. The band features David Lamb and MorganEve Swain, who show off their strong playing and singing chops on Fits of Reason. The duo’s sound varies a little bit throughout the album, with some psychedelic and Middle Eastern flavors at times, but overall, it’s mostly a blend of up-tempo Americana and dirty blues guitar, with Lamb and Swain singing in harmony a lot. Even though there are only two of them, they still manage to add some basic percussion instruments, like a kick drum and tambourine, to help drive their songs. There is also some great gypsy violin playing throughout the album, which reminded me of the violin that was prevalent on Bob Dylan’s 1976 album, Desire. However, the one downside to the large amount of energetic and upbeat songs is that your mind and ears are a little exhausted by the end of the record. I think this album could have benefited from a couple slower tunes that you could actually settle down into a groove. –Jory Carroll